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Twice in as many weeks I’ve found myself embroiled in intriguing detective mysteries inspired by Allen Pinkerton, the first Private Eye.  The Case of the Deadly Desperadosis set in the lawless mining town of Virginia City, Nevada Territory, where the presumed nephew of the famous detective, P.K. Pinkerton, uses his wits, cunning, and pokerface to outwit some ruthless villains and set up a detective agency of his own.  P.K.’s hope was to get to Chicago to meet, and perhaps work for, the legendary detective and his famous agency, but when the first book in The Wild West Mysteries series ends, P.K. decides to try his luck and honeRead More →

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Two young men, one white and one black, are coping with  life shattering events in the only ways they can.  For Finley, basketball has been his life-saver; he lives in a run down neighborhood ruled by drug violence, the Irish mafia, and racially charged conflict.  Emotionally and verbally reserved since his early childhood, Finley survives high school by keeping his head down, trusting his girlfriend Erin and Coach, and playing basketball. When Finley puts on his #21 jersey, he becomes another person: focused, confident, determined, and whole. When Coach asks him to spend time with Russ, a rising basketball star whose parents have been murdered and who willRead More →

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A.C.E. Bauer’s Gil Marsh is a modern re-imagining of the Epic of Gilgamesh.  Bauer takes the age-old legend of the young prince’s heartbreaking loss and epic quest for immortality and places it in a modern American high school, centered on the charismatic, handsome cross country star, Gil.  When Canadian Enko arrives, Gil’s place as star is threatened for the first time in his life. But it doesn’t take long for steadfast, kind-hearted Enko to win over Gil and the two young men become best friends. Their friendship is cut short by Enko’s tragic death and Gil’s world is turned upside down with his anger and grief. Read More →

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In: Mystery & Suspense (YA), On the Edge, Romance (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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Penelope “Lo” Marin isn’t the kind of girl who makes friends easily; her family has moved almost every year she’s been in school, having stayed in Cleveland for almost 2 years is a remarkable occurrence; she’s socially awkward, shy, and nervous; she has obsessive-compulsive disorder that she tries desperately to hide; and since her beloved brother, Oren’s, death last year, she’s fallen into a pit of near-madness and despair.  Isolated within her family – her dad has become a work-aholic, and her mom never gets out of bed – Lo has taken to riding the Cleveland transit system, getting off at random spots and wandering. Read More →

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In: On the Edge, Realistic Fiction (YA), Romance (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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From the moment it started, Min and Ed’s romance was doomed to failure. For six brief weeks their relationship was intense, all consuming, and fated to burn bright, hot, and fast.  When the co-captain of the basketball team, notorious playboy, and school’s hottest guy and a quirky, “arty”, cinema-hound girl collide one night at a Bittersweet 16 party for Min’s best friend Al, the gravitational pull overwhelms them but it also creates a black hole from which Min, at least, can’t escape.   Daniel Handler’s Why We Broke Up explores the idea of opposites attracting, the tug of war between their disparate worlds, and the casualties that result from twoRead More →

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How to Save a Life, the latest from Sara Zarr, is an emotionally honest, engrossing, and raw journey from loss and heartbreak to trust and hope.  Two young women, both broken and running away from wrenching pain, take turns telling their stories in well developed, distinct, truthful voices. High school senior Jill’s dad was killed in a car accident ten months ago and his sudden death has all but destroyed Jill’s world. Her raging anger has alienated everyone who tried to support her, has left her feeling lost and isolated, and is keeping her from seeing any hope or possibility of happiness in her future.Read More →

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Sitting under a blanket, with a cup of hot cocoa, watching the snow fall… ok, so in AZ I can do the first two and enjoy Winter Town, the latest from Stephen Emond, but alas, no snow here.  But it’s not really necessary, since Emond does a good job creating a sense of winter on every page of Winter Town: the cold gray skies; the biting wind and thick blankets of snow; the pristine landscape; the almost harsh feeling in the air late at night when it’s far below zero.  And of course, the feeling of isolation, the sense of reflection and doubt, and theRead More →

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I’ve been looking forward to Cinder: The Lunar Chronicles Book One by Marissa Meyer since the ARC came a few months ago. As the book got closer to the top of my pending stack, I kept glancing at the cover and wondering, excitedly, what the retelling of Cinderella as an android would be like.  So finally, on Tuesday, Cinder was at the top of the pile. I don’t remember much about Wednesday since I spent most of the day reading.  And despite a little awkward editing, I was rewarded for my patience with an engaging, fast-paced, creative story. In this era of re-imagining and retellingsRead More →

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*The True Story of My Fairy Godparent, Who Almost Killed Me, and Certainly Never Made Me a Princess Jennifer Van Der Berg isn’t really the kind of girl who wanted a fairy godmother to grant her wish to be a princess.  She certainly isn’t the kind of teen to be swept up, head over heels in love, with the boy of her dreams. She’s pretty average, actually. A little quick to anger sometimes. Really, more of a cynic than anything else. So when the book Born To Be Extraordinary rockets her to fame by completely misrepresenting her “adventure with her fairy godmother”, Jennifer has noRead More →